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The latest Porsche 911 is a sports car that’s thrilling to drive, yet easy to live with and more economical than ever. And the Cabriolet version teams that winning combination of attributes with the ability to take full advantage of the UK's two or three days of sunshine each year.

With a folding fabric roof, it isn't quite as weatherproof as some of its hard-topped rivals, of course. But it also means more space - and as a result, the 911 Cabriolet as a trump card shared by few of its rivals: rear seats.

But convertible 911s have traditionally been seen as the poor relation to their coupé counterparts. In the past, they've been seen as lacking the stiffness, and therefore the sharpness. Is that still the case, though, or has the 911 Cabriolet pulled up its socks? Time to find out.

Space - 8/10

Practical by sports car standards

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Richard Pardon

There’s lots of head and legroom for those in the front. And while most rivals are strict two seaters, the 911 Cabriolet has small rear seats that can accommodate people in emergencies and bags and coats the rest of the time.

True, the people we're talking about will have to be quite small, and willing to put up with a degree of discomfort, but the fact is the seats are there if you need them.

You even get a good-sized glovebox, cubbies beneath the armrests, and a couple of cupholders that fold out from beneath a flap in the dashboard.

Comfort - 8/10

Soaks up bumps in the road surprisingly well

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Richard Pardon

You might expect a car like this to have a punishing ride, but the 911 is actually pretty good at soaking up bumps, particularly if you have the adaptive suspension that’s standard on S models.

Supportive seats add to the comfort, and there’s a huge range of adjustment for the driver’s seat and steering wheel. And with the roof down and electric wind deflector raised, wind buffeting is kept to a minimum.

The wide tyres let the side down, however, because they generate quite a bit of road noise at motorway speeds. You'll also find that the 911's fabric roof allows more wind noise through than the metal roof you'll find on a Mercedes-Benz SL.

Dashboard layout - 8/10

Looks classy and most functions are simple enough

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Richard Pardon

The 911 Cabriolet’s dashboard is smartly styled and trimmed in leather, while aluminium highlights and slick switches add to the premium feel.

The way the dash is laid out isn’t quite so impressive, because the air-conditioning controls are difficult to get at when the gearstick is pushed forward into the odd-numbered gears.

Fortunately, the standard touchscreen keeps the stereo and satnav functions reasonably simple, and the screen itself is easy to reach from the driver’s seat. The inclusion of smartphone connectivity, including Apple Carplay, means it's easy to access your music or messages.

Easy to drive - 8/10

Controls are easy to operate, for the most part

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Richard Pardon

Carrera 4 and Turbo versions of the 911 Cabriolet are equipped with four-wheel drive to give them all-weather ability.

This combines with steering that’s surprisingly light at town speeds to make parking and manoeuvring easy. Plus the accelerator pedal has quite a lot of travel, which helps you drive the car smoothly in city traffic.

Versions with a manual gearbox do have a rather heavy clutch pedal, and because it has seven forward gears it's occasionally confusing to use. But the optional PDK automatic ’box is super slick.

The only downside is that the high rear deck makes seeing out of the back a bit of an issue, even with the roof down. With it raised, there's also a large blind spot on either side of the rear screen to contend with.

Autonomous Driving

You wouldn't tend to buy a car like this if you didn't plan to drive it yourself, and accordingly, the 911 Cabriolet's autonomous driving options are rather limited. You have to pay extra even for normal cruise control, while a cruise control system that monitors the car in front and adjusts the speed accordingly is an expensive optional extra.

Fun to drive - 10/10

Thrilling, whichever version you choose

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Richard Pardon

The 911 used to have tricky handling, with its back end all too keen to overtake the front if you made a mistake. However, Porsche has now cured this problem.

Instead of being intimidating to drive, the latest 911 makes you feel like an undiscovered talent, because its steering is so precise you can place the car exactly where you want it. The car also responds quickly to your steering inputs and grips tenaciously in corners, while the engines sound good when you rev them.

Even the least powerful version of the 911 - the standard Carrera - can hit 62mph in 4.6 seconds, while the S model offers a noticeable step up in performance, with so much low-down pulling power that you hardly need to ever change gear.

With the top down, you also get an unexpected advantage over the coupé: better access to the exhaust note. In this state, therefore, the Carrera Cabriolet actually feels a little more exciting and less muted than its hard-top sibling.

The Turbo, meanwhile, can keep up with all but the most expensive and exotic machinery.

Reliability - 6/10

Limited information, but warranty is short

Porsche doesn’t sell enough cars to be included in the annual JD Power customer satisfaction survey, but it has had issues in the past when introducing new engines, so we'll need to wait and see how the turbocharged units perform.

The standard warranty lasts for three years, no matter how many miles you do, but Ferrari trumps Porsche here, providing four years of cover.

Fuel economy - 9/10

Very efficient for such a fast and focused car

The 911 Cabriolet obviously won’t be cheap to run, but it’s surprisingly efficient given the performance it offers.

It’s particularly frugal if you go for the standard Carrera model and the optional auto gearbox, managing 38mpg in Government tests. That’s as much as some fast hatchbacks, and far more than you get out of direct rivals such as the Jaguar F-type.

True, economy will fall in real-world driving, but it's still easy to get more than 30mpg out of a Carrera or Carrera S on a motorway run - or to see much less than that if you drive the 911 hard.

Affordability - 7/10

Far from cheap, but holds its value well

Porsche doesn’t offer discounts because demand for the 911 is strong. And like other high performance cars, it will cost you a lot in servicing, insurance and tyres.

However, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin all charge more for their sports cars. And if you sell your 911 after two or three years, you’ll get a large chunk of your initial outlay back.

The turbocharged engines also emit less CO2 than the ones they replace, meaning annual tax bills have fallen significantly.

Safety - 8/10

A very advanced electronic stability control system is fitted to help you regain control if the car starts to slide, while front, side and window airbags protect occupants if an accident proves unavoidable.

Optional active safety equipment includes blind spot monitors and a digital speed limit display. A system which detects impending head-on collisions and applies the brakes is on the options list too, though it's only available combined with the expensive active cruise control system.

Standard spec - 7/10

Decently equipped, but you'll want to add some options

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Richard Pardon

The 911 comes with leather upholstery, a digital radio, satellite-navigation, and a dual-zone climate control system that lets the driver and front passenger select different temperatures.

However, there are plenty of ways to upgrade your 911, including cruise control, heated seats, steering wheel-mounted stereo controls and body styling kits. Throw in a wide range of paint colours and alloy wheels in various sizes and styles, and it's easy to see how the typical Porsche buyer spends about 10 per cent of the car's purchase price on optional extras.

Our favourite version

The verdict - 9/10

With the adoption of turbocharged engines, the latest Porsche 911 Cabriolet is faster and more efficient than ever, if lacking a bit of the sparkle that made previous generations so distinctive. Still, it's thrilling to drive on a challenging road, easier to manoeuvre than many family hatchbacks and comfortable enough to be used every day for the commute to work. Where older 911 Cabriolets were poor relations, this one is every bit as good as the coupé, and a fantastic all-round sports car.